Speak Up, Maybe He'll Hear
by SwagSammich78
Summary: From the start she thought they'd have nothing. By the end, he was her everything. All she wanted was for him to understand, and all he needed was for her to be a little louder... Inu/Kag


Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Inuyasha. Just borrowing the characters. Thanks to the lovely Mrs. Takahasi.

* * *

Speak Up, Maybe He'll Hear

The first time she saw him she knew they'd never mix.

Even at the tender age of six, Kagome Higurashi had learned the rules of popularity. From the first day of school it was as if a place had been reserved for everyone; one look, a single word, could determine your status for the rest of your life.

She'd gotten lucky. Being the shy girl she was, one of those sought out, coveted "it girls" had set their sights on her and deemed her worthy of their time, their group, their friendship. From there she was promised a guarantee of never eating lunch alone, playdate after playdate every weekend, and the rest of her spare time filled with slumber parties, easy bake oven fiascos, and simply laying on the clover filled grass, staring into the forever blue sky.

He, on the other hand, just looked doomed. From his shaggy white hair to his pus yellow eyes and his torn black jacket, he was obviously a prize to the rejects and misfits if there ever was one. He was sitting in the corner, slouched against the wall, his eyes narrowed and his arms folded so tightly against his chest they appeared as if they would break at any second. A permanent scowl was etched into his face as if he'd never smiled in his life, and the look only intensified as Kagome's deep, curious brown eyes stared at him in awe.

"What?" He spat, his voice filled with as much attitude as a six-year-old could muster. "Got a problem?"

Kagome's mouth opened slightly and her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. She'd never been good with words. She bowed her head and shook it. He laughed.

"What, too stupid to talk? Speak louder and I might hear you!"

Kagome bit her lip, tears brimming in her eyes. "I-I didn't mean it. To look, I mean. I shouldn't have..."

"I'm not good enough to look at?" His scowl grew harder than she thought possible. "Right?"

"No!" Kagome stammered, stomping her foot in frustration. "It isn't...not like that!"

"Isn't not? Now you're calling me ugly?"

"Of course she is, freak!" A girl from the popular group yelled, coming to Kagome's aid. "And who wouldn't? Where'd you get your coat, the lost and found?"

The whole class shrieked in laughter as he tugged his coat protectively around himself, as if that alone would shield him from their harsh words. Kagome looked around, then back at him guiltily.

"Freak! Freak! Freak!" Their classmates were chanting, clapping and stomping their feet in time. Kagome reached a hand towards him, her eyes begging him to...what?

To know that she didn't think he was any different than her? That what the others said didn't matter?

Whatever it was he didn't understand; he knocked her hand away, rising to his feet and stomping out of the classroom, the other's laughter still ongoing. Kagome took a step towards the door but two pairs of tiny hands pulled her back.

"No, Kagome!" The main leader said sternly. "You can't follow him."

Kagome opened her mouth in protest. "But that wasn't very nice!"

The other girl shook her head, her sausage curls bouncing on her shoulders. "He brought it on himself! And it doesn't matter where he's gone cause he's a dirty loser anyways!"

Kagome gasped.

"You can follow him but it won't do you no good," The leader said matter-of-factly. "And you don't want to be his friend more than our's, do you?"

"Oh, no!" Kagome replied hurriedly. "No!"

"Then stay here. With us. Where you belong," She responded. "This is where you should be. He belongs with the dogs."

The other girl giggled in agreement. Kagome managed a tiny smile.

Inside, however, she felt no better than the dogs themselves.

* * *

He read. A lot.

She'd peek from behind the shelves during lunch, the only time she could find privacy without having to use the bathroom. Even then someone would usually go with her to gab about the horrible skirt some fellow student in her fifth grade class had on, or just so she wouldn't be alone. As if she'd fall in the toilet if unaccompanied.

None of the clique would dare step in a library, however. She herself was the bookworm; she could sit tucked away in a desolate corner and read for hours to find contentment. Reading and writing were her favorite subjects. She could use them to say things that she'd never have the courage to say herself.

She flattened against one of the tall bookshelves as his head jerked up, angry for being disturbed in his sanctuary. "Who's there?"

Kagome clamped her hand over her mouth.

"No use in hiding, I can hear ya know!"

Kagome slowly stepped from behind the safety of the bookshelf, her hands nervously behind her back. "Er...hi?" She whispered shyly.

He blinked before rolling his eyes and going back to his book, which was in his lap as he sat in the corner, a stack of more books at one side and a sandwich on the other. "What do you want?"

"N-nothing. I just..." She trailed off hopelessly, wringing her hands. "I like to read, too."

He glanced up again, his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. "And I care because?"

Kagome looked at the floor. "I don't know?"

What was she _doing _here?

He looked irritated. "Unless you have something to say worth my time, go away!" he snapped. Kagome flinched.

"But...I just-"

"Look, can you speak up? Then maybe I'll hear you!"

Kagome sighed, reaching into her bookbag and tugging out a book, which she placed on the floor in front of him. He didn't look up. "For you," She whispered. Her eyes, so bright and brown, sought out gold ones. Didn't he see? Didn't he care? Didn't he understand?

He snorted, the hidden message in the depths of her eyes clearly overlooked.

"Whatever."

Kagome backed away, swiping at her tear filled eyes with her sleeve as she disappeared behind the shelf. He looked up when her footsteps had vanished, picking up the book.

_Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss_

It was his favorite story. He'd already had a copy, but it had been thrown in the mud by some popular girls earlier that week and ruined. He turned the new copy over in his hands, his eyebrows slightly raised with wonder. He opened the cover.

Inside was one single word, scribbled in tidy, loopy cursive. He gingerly ran a claw along the word, feeling a slight tug in his chest and a small, ghost of a smile spread across his face.

_Sorry_.

* * *

His eyes were beautiful.

Kagome glanced up as Mr. Myoga all but shoved the white haired thirteen-year-old boy into the chair beside her, his face blotchy and red from rage. He pointed a stubby finger in their faces.

"I'd expect this sort of behavior from you, Mr. Takahasi, but Ms. Higurashi? I'm disappointed in you both!"

"Boo hoo. Cry me a river," he muttered in response, snickering.

"I won't!" Myoga barked, storming to the empty classroom's door. "I'll just let you two sit in here instead! Enjoy detention!" He slammed the door behind him and the boy sat back in his chair, resting his arms behind his head. Kagome rested her head on the table, sighing.

"What are you so booboo faced about?" He suddenly asked, causing her to jump. "It's _your _fault we're in here!"

Kagome bolted up in her seat, her eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me? I didn't throw that pizza slice to start the food fight!"

"No, but you didn't stop your ditzy friends from throwing their's, did you?"

Kagome hesitated. "I...tried."

"Yeah, right."

"I did!"

"And a lot of good you did! I see we're still stuck in detention!"

"Well I'm sorry my friends started that food fight! I'm sorry I tried to get them to stop but couldn't! And I'm sorry you have to sit in here with me when you could be out smoking pot or drinking or having sex or whatever you do in your spare time!"

It was the first thing she'd said to him without having to think about it, the most she'd said to him in one sitting. He looked at her, his eyebrows raised. Her own head was lowered and a slight blush on her cheeks; obviously she'd felt as if she'd said too much.

"Smoke? Drink? Where'd you hear that load of crap?"

Kagome shrugged, feeling less sure of herself.

"I...well...around," She muttered lamely. He stared for another second before snorting.

"You listen too much to other people and their big mouths. Do you ever try to make your own opinions?"

Kagome scoffed at his question. "Of course I do!"

"Yeah, right."

Kagome rolled her eyes, glaring at him. "My friends were right," She said angrily. "You're nothing more than a jerk."

To her surprise he laughed. "A jerk. Wow. That's hurtful."

Kagome lifted her chin. "It should be."

"Well, as opposed to you, I don't care what other people think."

Kagome gave him a puzzled glance. "I don't either."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Uh huh. That's why when you see people treating others like crap you do nothing. That's why when your so-called-friends are laughing at other girls who can't afford the most pricey shoes, the shortest skirts, or the designer jeans, you laugh along."

"I don't-"

"And when they're off, judging people who's lives they know nothing about, you're trying to play the good Samaritan behind their backs so you yourself can seem like a better person but the truth is you're worse than them!"

"How dare you?" Kagome argued, though her voice was considerably quieter. "That's not true! How can you compare me to them?"

"Because you have the power to change things and you don't! You see they're wrong and do nothing to make it right!"

"What am I supposed to do? Tell them to stop? All they'll do is make fun of me, too!"

He slowly turned his head to gaze into her eyes, his own eyes the color not of pus, but of fine spun gold. The gold that one could only hope to see in perfect sunsets. A brilliant gold that could outshine the sun itself. They were filled with so much...malice, anger, and...disappointment?

"There's a word for being that way," he said lowly. "It's called self-centered. And that's one thing I thought you _weren't_, Kagome."

It was the first time he'd ever used her name.

Her eyes widened with surprise, hurt, anger. Why did they have to be like this? Worse than that, why did he have to be right?

She gazed into those beautiful golden eyes, wondering how she'd ever saw them as anything but flawless. She opened her mouth, her mind racing, her heart thumping frantically in her chest. She had to say something, _anything_. He had to understand! "I..."

'_I'm not like this! Please, you have to believe me, this isn't who I am...can't you see me? The real me?'_

He crossed his arms, giving her a look of disdain before turning away. "Speak louder," he spat over his shoulder, already closing her out. "Maybe I'll hear you."

Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat, spending the rest of their silent detention drowning in her regret.

* * *

His name was Inuyasha.

It was pretty pathetic how she'd known of him for the past eight years, yet she'd never caught his first name, and she'd only caught it then because his locker was three down from her's and Inuyasha's best friend, a boy named Miroku, had greeted him by it. He was there now, and the two were laughing about something. Kagome blushed from behind her locker door.

She liked his laugh. She wished she could make him laugh like that. Too bad he hated her.

She shut her locker, slowly walking down the hallway as she headed home. It had been a bad day. She'd failed a math test, spilled ketchup over her favorite white blouse, and lost her history notebook. What a great way to start high school.

On top of all that, Inuyasha was in four of her classes, all of which he sat near enough to her where he could glare her way the entire time. As if she didn't feel like a horrible enough person already.

Kagome reached the front doors and pushed them open just as a group of football players rushed by, one of them carrying a bag of footballs that knocked into her and sent her flying down the steps; her ankle twisted underneath her as she fell and a white hot pain sharp enough to bring tears to her eyes ran through it. She gasped, trying to take a shaky breath but she couldn't; the wind had been knocked out of her. She struggled to her feet, making the mistake of putting weight on her injured ankle and her legs gave out beneath her.

Her body aimed for the ground, but landed in Inuyasha's arms instead.

"Idiot!" He shot at her as she desperately clung to his shoulders, her face white and contorted with pain. "What are you doing?"

"I...I got hit," She rasped weakly, taking in shallow breaths/ "And I...landed on my ankle-"

"Oh, for the love of...here." inuyasha scooped her up in his arms with ease, rolling his eyes. "I'll take you home."

"Really?"

"No. I'm just saying it." Inuyasha snorted at his own sarcasm as they set off, Kagome resting her head in the crook of his neck, her jet black hair tickling his chin. "Of course I mean it, you crazy-"

"Thank you."

Inuyasha stopped mid-sentence, glancing down at Kagome, her brown eyes sincere and bright, a smile on her lips. He shrugged.

"It's whatever."

"It isn't. After how I've been...I don't deserve you being nice to me."

Inuyasha sighed. "That's your problem right there, kagome. No one deserves to be treated differently. We're all equals. You should learn that."

Kagome shut her eyes, the pain in her ankle already fading. "I think...I have." She opened them again. "Thank you. Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked down, the afternoon sunlight streaming onto him, casting his hair into a silvery glow. "Sure," He said slowly before looking back up. He knew that her thank you was for more than his taking her home. For once, she'd managed to get the words right.

They were silent the rest of the way home.

Inuyasha. Inuyasha, Inuyasha. Kagome smiled.

The name suited him.

Perhaps he didn't hate her, after all.

* * *

She noticed the bruises after Biology.

"Okay, what's up?" She asked him, cornering him on the staircase before the tardy bell rang. People were casting her odd looks as they bumped into her but she didn't care; she only had eyes for the boy in front of her, whose arms looked like they'd served as someone's punching bag. Inuyasha stared back, appearing as surprised as everyone else; they talked in the library and on the phone and when he walked her home after school everyday, but never directly during school. "What?"

"The bruises." Kagome felt anger surging through her insides; who dared hit him like that? "Well? What is it?"

Inuyasha frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it, Kagome. I've got it covered."

"You sure?" Kagome piped up, looking unconvinced. "Because if you need backup-"

Inuyasha laughed so hard he had to grip the rail to keep from falling over. "You couldn't hurt anyone even if you wanted to. But thanks."

"But-"

"I can take care of myself." He rested a hand on her face, cupping her cheek. "Okay?"

Kagome nodded slowly, though her eyes were still on his with a look of concern. He dropped his hand, giving her a rare smile. "Should we go to class then?"

She nodded again. She knew if she tried to say anything else it would come out all wrong and that he'd tell her if she spoke up, he might hear her.

But she had a feeling that no matter how loudly she could say what was in her heart, he'd never understand.

* * *

He never got sick.

So when he started missing more days of school than usual, Kagome got a bit worried. Especially when he'd return to school, his usually tan skin paler than average, barely able to keep his eyes open. And no matter how much she'd poke and prod him to annoyance, pleading for him to tell her what was wrong, he'd merely shrug off her attempts and tell her to mind her own business.

She wished she could tell him he _was _her business.

Unfortunately it was one of those things she could never imagine saying, so when Valentine's Day rolled around she perked up. Great! The perfect opportunity to tell Inuyasha her feelings!

Or at least cheer him up some.

No one was surprised more than inuyasha himself when he opened his locker early that morning, a shower of flowers greeting him in every shade of red, blue, and yellow. His eyes widened, his mouth hung open, and he stared for at least a minute without saying a word until Kagome snuck up behind him, a grin on her face.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" She yelled to the stunned boy, throwing her hands into the air. "What do you think?"

He smirked. "I think someone spent a hell of a lot of money on flowers."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh gee. Thanks. That's all I get for my hard work?"

"Well if you'd stop being such a drama queen and open your own locker maybe your thank you will be in there."

Kagome gave him a funny look before twirling her combination and pulling open her locker. She gasped as she spotted a bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers sitting on top of her English book. Her eyes widened and she pressed her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my..."

"Kagome?"

"God..."

"Kagome are you _crying_?"

Inuyasha suddenly toppled backwards as Kagome flung herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love sunflowers!" She squealed into his ear. "I love the flowers and I love Valentine's Day and-"

"I get it, you love everything," Inuyasha groaned. "Now get off of me."

She obeyed, beaming and skipping as they head for their first class. "But you know what I love most about my flowers?" She asked, hugging the blooms to her chest. Inuyasha chuckled.

"What?"

Kagome smiled up at him. "That they're from you."

She looked foreward, a slight blush on her face and Inuyasha was relieved, because she was no longer the only one blushing.

* * *

They were inseparable.

She loved the spring and he liked fall. His favorite color was red and her's was green. They both liked old movies and watched enough of them on Kagome's couch Friday nights to be able to say they'd seen almost all of them. They both liked Italian Food, especially when they could switch plates at Olive Garden. The piano was the favorite instrument of them both.

But only she could play it.

He'd listen to her practice after school sometimes, on the old one behind the school's auditorium. It was just one of those things they liked to do and one of those places they could go without being bothered by anyone else. Kagome, being the shy girl she was, could barely play in front of Inuyasha until he told her that if she didn't he'd play it for her.

One minute, multiple banged keys, and a whopping headache later, Kagome finally took over.

While she played they'd talk about...things. Some things. Anything. Everything that came to mind. Kagome knew that in the past couple of years Inuyasha had grown to know her better than anyone else, and she could say the same for him.

And yet, she couldn't tell him.

She knew she needed to, that he needed to know one day. But how could she tell Inuyasha in three words what she'd felt for practically eight years? Was it possible? Was it logical? Would it work?

Would he understand?

She could never tell him face to face. Whenever she tried she could never get the words out. He could never hear her.

And she could never speak louder.

So when the flyer advertising the school talent show was thrust in her face by the object of her affections himself, it seemed perfect. Play a song, a special song written just for him, in front of him? It couldn't be more perfect timing!

"If I do it, will you go?" Kagome asked hopefully, batting her big brown eyes up at him pleadingly. Inuyasha blinked in surprise, for he'd thought that surely it would take a lot more convincing then he'd actually had to do to get her to perform.

"Of course! Yeah!" His voice however, sounded uncertain. Kagome nudged him.

"Promise? I need you there. I can't..." She looked down. "I can't do it without you."

A hand laced it's fingers with her's and she looked back up to see Inuyasha staring down at her, his golden eyes somewhat clouded with fatigue, shadows, and... happiness.

Happiness. From her.

He squeezed her hand, smiling down at her. "I promise."

* * *

He never broke his promises.

So when she was told she was on next, she peeked through the curtain of the crowded auditorium and searched for his face, she didn't see it.

Yeah, her mom and brother and grandfather were there, along with most of her other friends, but not _him_ like he'd swore he'd be when she'd talked to him on the phone the night before! He hadn't been in school all week and he'd sounded so sick, but he'd assured her that he'd be there, that he'd get better...

He _had _to be there! She had only signed up to do this for him! It had always been for him!

Her name was called and she walked on stage in her new dress, self-consciously wiping her palms on the side. Everyone was cheering and clapping, urging her on.

Everyone but _him_. Because he wasn't there.

Kagome sat on the bench in front of the grand piano in the center of the stage, swallowing the lump that had risen in her throat. He wasn't there. He'd broken his promise.

And there she was, in front of all these people...she couldn't do it. Not here. Not without him.

She closed her eyes, remembering his voice, so low and so powerful as opposed to her own small, timid, melodic tone. He'd always had the courage while she had the fear, he'd always said to her time and time again;

"Speak up and I might hear you!"

Well, she was hear now and damn it, someone was going to hear her.

She opened her eyes again, staring at the audience in front of her. "This is a song I wrote," She said softly, but with a newfound strength that made her voice carry across the auditorium. "For someone special to me. He... means more to me than I could ever say."

She closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath before starting, the notes sending chills down her own spine although she'd played them countless times before. But this time, they were different.

This time, it was for him.

"He drowns in his dreams  
And exquisite extreme, I know  
He's as damned as he seems  
More heaven than a heart could hold

And if I try to save him,  
My whole world could cave in  
It just ain't right,  
It just ain't right...

She took another deep breath, imagining him sitting beside her, imagining his voice urging her to go on.

"Oh and I don't know  
I don't know what he's after  
But he's so beautiful  
Such a beautiful disaster  
And If I could hold on  
Through the tears and the laughter  
Would it be beautiful  
Or just a beautiful disaster.

"He's magic and myth  
As strong as what I believe  
More tragic with  
More damage than a soul should see

"But do I try to change him  
So hard not to blame him  
Hold me tight  
Baby hold me tight

"Oh and I don't know  
Don't know what he's after  
But he's so beautiful  
He's such a beautiful disaster  
And if I could hold on  
Through the tears and the laughter  
Would it be beautiful  
Or just a beautiful disaster.

By now the audience in front of her was clapping wildly; some of them had stood up, swaying in time with the strikingly beautiful chords that sang out of the piano along with Kagome's chilling voice.

I'm longing for love and the logical  
But he's only happy hysterical  
I'm searching for some kind of miracle  
Waiting so long  
Waiting so long..."

She was remembering everything now as it all rushed back; the late night talks, the walks home, their arguments and their making up that proved they could never stay mad at each other. Them in her kitchen, making dinner when her mother came home late or them on his couch, falling asleep in each other's arms...the good times, the bad times, and the times where she thought she'd never make it, but Inuyasha had always been there. Inuyasha had always been proof to her that no matter what happened in her life, she could overcome everything.

And she knew, without a doubt, that she loved him; harder and fiercer and more than she'd ever loved anyone in her life. She'd never known that she could love someone, feel so much, for just one person... the realization hit her with such an intensity that tears welled in her eyes and her voice broke as she finally let them fall down her cheeks, the stage lights reflecting in them like crystals.

"He's soft to the touch  
But frayed at the ends he breaks  
He's never enough  
And he's still more than I can take."

She didn't deserve him. She never had and she never would. But maybe if he knew, maybe if for once he could look into her eyes, hear her voice, and just _understand_. If only for once she could be loud enough.

"Oh and I don't know  
I don't know what he's after  
But he's so beautiful  
Such a beautiful disaster  
And if I could hold on  
Through the tears and the laughter  
Would it be beautiful  
Or just a beautiful disaster..."

No longer would she be afraid. She didn't have to. No matter what happened after this, she knew that fear was one thing she wouldn't have to have. It didn't matter if he loved her back or not because in the end he'd still made her better than she'd ever been before. She could never repay him, but she could always love him.

She _would _always love him.

"He's beautiful  
Oh, he's so beautiful  
He's beautiful..."

She let the last of her words fade off with a soft hush, closing her eyes and taking another breath, her fingers falling off the keys. The auditorium burst into booming applause, the entire audience leaping to their feet, screaming and cheering her name, their clapping hands filling the air with it's rings. Kagome, however, only had eyes for the silver haired man who had appeared behind the curtain without her noticing, his own golden eyes filled with tears. Tears that she'd never seen in his eyes before.

She saw something else in them as well, so filled with them that she had no idea how she'd never even noticed it before.

It was love.

* * *

He died on a Tuesday.

The call had come at two in the morning; his mother knew she wouldn't be sleeping. Kagome didn't have to ask her mother when she heard the sobs coming from the kitchen downstairs. She knew.

His funeral as that Friday. It was cloudy.

She'd cried so much the rest of the week that tears would no longer come; only the dull, numbing ache in her chest and the all too familiar lump in her throat. The mourners left, yet Kagome couldn't bring herself to leave the cemetery with them. Instead, she slowly walked up to his newly filled grave, sinking down beside the cold tombstone as if in a trance. The soil, so freshly packed and soft, felt cold in her hands. Cold.

Just like he was now.

Cancer. He'd battled with Leukemia since he was six, finally going into remission when he was eight. When he'd turned twelve, however, they'd discovered a tumor on the right side of his brain. When no treatment had helped and his only option was surgery, a surgery that he only had a twenty percent chance of surviving, he'd refused any more treatment; he wanted to live life to the fullest.

All that time, he'd never even bothered to tell her he was dying.

Kagome let out a small sob. All those years, all the time they'd spent together, and he couldn't tell her? He'd let her think that she had their entire lifetime to tell him that she loved him when in reality his life had been cut short. It wasn't fair.

_It wasn't fair. _How could he wait until the very last minute, until the life had practically been sucked dry from him, that they'd never have a future? How could he let her have so much hope, so many dreams, that they could never share together?

"Kagome?"

She slowly looked up to see Inuyasha's mother herself staring down, an envelope in her hand and tear tracks staining her beautiful face. She was breathtaking

Just like her son had been.

Kagome wiped her eyes as his mother held the envelope towards her with shaking fingers.

"Here...he promised me I'd give this to you before he..." she trailed off, a tortured expression on her face.

Kagome slowly took it, her fingers trembling as well, tears dancing on her eyelashes. His mother gave the girl a sympathetic look before quietly backing away and giving her space, going to talk to a few scattered mourners. Kagome tore open the envelope and pulled a folded sheet of paper from inside. For the first time in days she laughed, seeing his familiar sloppy handwriting.

_Kagome, _

_If you're reading this, then it's because I'm not here anymore (and mom if it's you I swear you'd better put this down because you promised you wouldn't read it. Don't think I'm not still watching you)_

Kagome burst into laughter; it bubbled inside of her chest, ebbing away some of the grief that had plagued her the past few days. A few people cast her startled glances but she didn't care; she held the letter as if it were long lost treasure.

_I knew you weren't like the other girls when I first met you_. _Even when we weren't talking I could always tell that you were a good person, way better than those other ones you hung out with. I know you're angry that I didn't tell you sooner but I couldn't stand to live the little time I had left with you grieving before I'd even died. It would've been pretty hard playing Madden with you blubbering on the other end of the couch. Plus, I never could stand seeing you cry._

_I'm sorry that we didn't have more time. I'm sorry that I couldn't love you the way you deserved while I was here. I guess that was me being selfish on my part, because the more I fell in love with you, them more it hurt realizing I'd have to leave you so soon._

_But Kagome, just because I'm dead doesn't mean you have to die, too. I couldn't take it if I knew you were hurting while I was gone. I want you to smile. I want you to laugh. And I want you to live like there's no tomorrow. _

_And when I say live I mean _live_. Go off and fall in love again and get married and have lots of screaming babies or whatever, because you only live once. But whatever you do, make sure it's what makes you happy._

_And remember, I love you. I always have and I always will. And you never had to tell me you loved me, because I knew it all along._

_Love always, Inuyasha_

Her breath was shaky yet she felt no sorrow, no sadness. It felt as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders, her very heart, and she could breathe again.

He'd loved her. Inuyasha had loved _her_.

And he'd left the world knowing that she had loved him back. Kagome couldn't help but laugh through her tears. That Inuyasha had always known her, better than she'd known herself.

She tucked the letter in her jacket pocket and stood up, giving his tombstone one last brush with her fingers before walking off to join a few of her lingering friends, a smile already beginning to spread across her face. Inuyasha might've been gone but he no longer felt any pain or suffering. He was in a better place.

She'd smile because she had enough memories to last a lifetime. She'd laugh because he was the one who taught her how to laugh and mean it.

And she'd live life to the fullest because he hadn't been able to live long enough. She'd live each day as if it were her last, for the both of them.

Not to mention, she'd need to have some good stories to share when she met him on the other side one day.

He'd taught her so much and there was no way she'd let him down.

"I love you, Inuyasha," She whispered over her shoulder, staring at his final resting place. A gentle breeze stirred, lifting her hair off of her shoulders, and she swore for one moment that she'd felt his gentle fingers brushing across her cheek one last time before the breeze faded and the sun came to peek through the clouds.

There was no need for her to speak up. He had always heard her.

And at last, he understood.

* * *

So one shots aren't really my thing, but I do give kudos to those who can do good ones; fitting a plot filled story into one chapter is no joke. So those who can sucessfully do that I tip my hat.

The song is "Beautiful Disaster" By Kelly Clarkson. Old song I know, but I like it regardless.

Thanks to all who read! Reviews are appreciated. :)

-Kelsey


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